The present invention relates generally to a canoe stabilizing and guiding mechanism of uncomplicated design which may be detachably mounted on a canoe to stabilize and assist in guiding the canoe thereby readily permitting a single operator to paddle the canoe from the conventional stern seat with a minimum of skill and strength.
Numerous devices have been proposed for use with canoes in an effort to overcome the inherent instability of a canoe and the inherent difficulty in single person operation of a canoe. The draft of a canoe is very slight as it is designed to ride high in the water and to be readily manipulated in tight areas such as on rivers and the like to avoid rocks and follow a rather tortuous path. By reason of the shallow draft of the canoe, and the relative high seat to allow unrestricted paddling motion, the same is considerably unstable and in rocky or swift current passages considerable skill is required of the operator or operators to maintain control over the canoe to avoid capsizing and maintain directional control. Again, because of the shallow draft of a canoe, windy conditions will also adversely affect control over the operation of the canoe. Normal operation of a canoe without auxiliary assistance involves at lest one operator in the stern and usually an operator in the bow. The bow operator provides forward force without directional control to any great extent, whereas the stern operator must provide not only forward force but also directional control. As a result the stern operator should preferably be an experienced paddler and normally under such circumstances will use what is recognized as the J-stroke. This particular stroke includes reaching forward with the paddle, digging the paddle into the water, pulling rearwardly with considerable strength and then toward the end of the rearward stroke moving the paddle either outwardly or inwardly in the general configuration of a J. Outward movement of the paddle will steer the bow to the right and inward movement of the paddle at the end of the stroke will steer the bow to the left. This type of stroke makes correction for inherent changes in direction caused not only by the unbalance of forces applied to the canoe by other paddlers but also to compensate for current and wind conditions. This type of stern stroke is designed to permit compensation for direction of forward movement of the canoe without any material interference with the forward momentum of the canoe.
The most common forms of canoe stabilizers and guiding mechanisms used extensively with sailing canoes involve outriggers for stabilization and various forms of centerboards, keels or leeboards mounted on the outrigger or along the side of a canoe as might be preferred. These particular mechanisms depend in the water and are designed to prevent among other things transverse movement of the canoe while it is subjected to forward movement. These mechanisms will resist wind to some extent and while they are capable of providing some degree of stabilization they are not capable of providing guiding action. Rudders are designed for use on canoes but the mounting and operation of such mechanisms changes the entire character of the canoe as normally rudders are used with sailing canoes or engine powered canoes.
The present invention very effectively and inexpensively provides stabilization and adjustable guiding to a canoe to permit a single operator, even a novice, to handle a canoe under what might ordinarily be considered adverse conditions. It may also be used to replace outriggers, centerboards or leeboards for normal paddling or sailing. Basically, the present canoe stabilizing and guiding mechanism includes a bracket mounted outboard of the canoe, which bracket receives a canoe paddle or other suitable form of stabilizer and guide, the canoe paddle being adjustably mounted in the bracket so as to depend therefrom to place the blade of the paddle in the water. The depending canoe paddle provides stability to the canoe by reason of being mounted outboard of the canoe and the paddle may be selectively rotated from one position to another so as to change the direction of the depending blade of the paddle thereby providing guiding action to the canoe. In this manner a stern paddler can operate the canoe without any requisite degree of skill as the stern paddler need merely set the paddle or other form of stabilizer mounted in the bracket in such a manner as to compensate for existing factors affecting the operation of the canoe thereby permitting the stern paddler to merely paddle in a normal inexperienced manner. When fishing from the canoe, the paddle, extending vertically into the water provides a stabilizing effect by counterbalancing against the movement of the fishermen in casting change of position or side-to-side movement caused by wind and wave action. The amount of stabilization imparted to the canoe may be increased or decreased by adjusting the depth to which the paddle extends into the water. The greater the depth of the paddle in the water the greater the stabilizing effect.